Up-and-coming scribes Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair have been hired to write The Girl Who Conned The Ivy League, the feature adaptation of a Rolling Stone article that McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision will produce. Amanda Seyfried has been tapped to star in the true story of a woman who creates a fake identity and scams her way into Columbia University. Sabrina Rubin Erdely wrote the original article. McG and Wonderland production president Mary Viola are producing with Michael Nardelli (Another Happy Day), who is financing development via his Taggart Productions banner; Pam Schachter is co-producing. Shafer and Vicknair recently sold a TV pilot, the romantic comedy Girlfriend Season, to CBS, and their feature spec A Many Splintered Thing was a Nicholl Fellowship finalist this year. They are repped by UTA and Brillstein. McG, repped by WME, is in postproduction on his upcoming film This Means War, starring Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy. Also on the feature side, Wonderland is developing Dead Spy Running at Warner Bros with Stephen Gaghan directing and Tink at Disney with Elizabeth Banks starring.

22 Comments

Ah yes, more men writing about the plight of women. The article was written by a female, but clearly these men truly understand a woman better. BULLS***!!!

Em • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

Agreed. I’m sure these guys are talented, but this project seems much better suited for a female writer. Just another example of Hollywood sexism at its best. At least the protagonist is a woman, but whether or not the character winds up with an authentic female voice remains to be seen.

anon • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

I hate to break-up the self-pity party, but the person who put this all together is the very talented WOMAN Mary Viola. So much for your sexism theory.

That sucking sound you hear is the air going out of your tire filled with bitterness and grave lack of success.

Jena • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

I’m curious to know if Mary Viola was the final say or did she have to answer to a man. I’m also curious to know how many diversity writers were in the mix.

MLovechild • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

I’m sure she answered to Jesus. I mean, seriously? Did you really just ask if she had to answer to a man, then change the topic to race? You are almost as amazing as Elia, the pretend Indian writer below who has to log in as “anonymous”. Come on people. Move on.

Anonymous • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

If you’ve ever dealt with Mary in a work capacity, then you’d know she has bigger balls than a lot of the men out here. She probably grabbed her sack and hired whomever she wanted without a second thought.

Anonymous • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

Ever consider maybe they had the best take on the material and the producers decided to go with them because of that? As a female writer who’s booked a number of jobs writing male-centric television shows, I have a feeling the most simple answer is what’s going on here.

Bruin4 life • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

Read this article last year and was obsessed with it. Knew writing was on the wall for it to be turned into a feature. Don’t screw it up!

Murph • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

Congrats to Paul and Chris, two incredibly nice guys who have paid their dues for years to get to this point. I hope those of you who were hoping for a female writer will at least give them a chance. Good writing is good writing, no matter who it comes from.

jeffreyaspern • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

agree murph-if such logic were to prevail, then no script with a male protagonist should be awarded to a female writer. many women have better insight into the male psyche than males themselves, as do many males have an interesting pov into the machinations of the female mind.

Anonymous • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

To you and murph, you’re idiots. If you don’t understand by now that a majority of writing jobs go to men (mostly white men) then you’re just protecting your own. Discrimination is always protected by cronies. You two are such cliches.

jeffreyaspern • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

on the contrary, anonymous, i am the opposite demographic of which you speak. i understand that you have statistics to prove your point, and i, also, wish to see more women being awarded jobs here in town. however, would you advocate that an inferior female scribe write this script (or any script) rather than a male only to satisfy a desire for gender equity? i do not. you miss my point entirely – simply that, the naivete of the comments above, which assert that a woman should be awarded a screenplay based on the protagonist’s being a woman, seems as cliche as your inability to engage in intelligent discussion – no need for name-calling in civilized society. oh yes, i forget, this is hollywood, where the literate are few and the remainder are “anonymous.”

Anonymous • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

Is your argument that most woman are inferior writers which is why they don’t get a job? Do you disagree with the statistics that state most men (white men) get more of the jobs in Hollywood and that minorities are woefully underrepresented in front of and behind camera? My arguments still stands. HOLLYWOOD DISCRIMINATES (or is too lazy to look behind the white male paradigm that creates mediocrity). And by your agreement with Murph, you accept discrimination instead of fighting for equality. My name is Elia. I’m an Indian-American.

The phantom • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

I think you’re being sexist by assuming that men should be precluded from writing female characters. Is there a law somewhere in Hollywood I’m not privy to?

Chris • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

AWESOME!!! Go guys.

Tohmoe • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

Cool team…

mfan • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

Who, exactly, is this movie supposed to appeal to? The potential audience for the story seems very small.

D'oh! • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

Man, I’m supposing people who like good stories? Just a guess.

boredtotears • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

Late to the party here, but am always amazed at how the comments on these blogs go way off track. This is a story about a team of cool writers who landed a pretty cool gig with a pretty cool company based on a pretty cool article with a pretty cool actress attachment. Key word: cool. The haters need to stop focusing on who has a penis and who has a vagina in that mix. Both sexes have brains, both can pitch on projects, and both have hands to type scripts. There is no such thing as affirmative action in this business (although the less talented candidates would like to paint it that way). End of story. PS – just needed to point out the fact that if you look at every person announced in this release, the women are in a dead heat with the men (Amanda, Mary, Pam, Sabrina – McG, Michael, Chris, and Paul). 4 and 4. If you can’t write, at the very least please learn how to count.

Tasha • on Nov 9, 2011 1:34 pm

Man. Woman. Whatever! At least someone is making an interesting, original story for crying out louuuuuuuud!